


again and again

by boysbackintown



Category: Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four (Comicverse), Marvel (Comics), Spider-Man (Comicverse), Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Family, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Secret Identity, Social Media, Soulmates, Spideytorch Week 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-23
Updated: 2019-07-23
Packaged: 2020-07-12 07:43:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19942627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boysbackintown/pseuds/boysbackintown
Summary: It’s hard trying to be friends with a guy Peter has been actively antagonizing for years.(Secret identities and six other mishaps.)





	again and again

**Author's Note:**

> I actually have a longer (hopefully better written) piece for Spideytorch week but I wanted to put something up for now. A little quick write.

**secret identity.**  
  
It’s hard trying to be friends with a guy Peter has been actively antagonizing for years.  
  
Also read as: It’s hard trying to be friends with a guy Peter has been already been friends with for years.  
  
They run across each other a lot when Peter’s not in the suit— something that is bewildering for Johnny and stressful for Peter. It’s during events Peter covers for _The Bugle_ , Reed’s lab, MJ’s photo shoots, cases when an anonymous brunette sneaking around is more useful than Spider-Man and, unfortunately, The Human Torch also is involved.  
  
And Peter isn’t always at his best out of the mask with Johnny Storm— mostly kind of petty. Some of it was saving face— a slip up of a reused joke or a familiar tone of voice and the whole gig is up.  
  
A lot of it was old teenage jealousy. Then regular plain adult jealousy. Peter’s skin itches uncomfortably when he remembers every casually callous thing he has said to Johnny’s very symmetrical, doe-eyed face.  
  
But it’s sometime between breaking up with MJ and getting body slammed against the Empire State Building by Harry when Peter realizes he is rapidly losing track of his personal life. Maybe it’s when he completely lost contact with Flash or when Betty stop smiling as much when he stops by. Maybe it was when Aunt May uninvited him from their bi-weekly lunches.  
  
_You need to start trusting the people who love you, Peter_ , Aunt May says, gentle and a little annoyed with his absent-mindedness.  
  
So, that’s what Peter is doing right now. Taking someone’s advice, for once.  
  
“Open your eyes, Johnny.”  
  
“I’m protecting your virtue, Spidey.”  
  
“Can’t protect something that I am willingly handing you,” Peter sighs when Johnny waggles his eyebrows at that. “Look, you already know who I am.”  
  
Johnny and his eyebrows still at that, his hands still planted firmly over his eyes. They are on top of the Statue of Liberty and Johnny’s feathery hair blows gently in the wind.  
  
“I don’t know—“  
  
“Open up,” Peter says, a little exhausted and scared. “You’ll hate me forever but I…care about you.” It sounds extremely lame but Peter isn’t sure how to verbalize everything he is feeling: how he trusts Johnny with his life, how he appreciates him always being there, how he is tired of pushing people away.   
  
But something about his tone must have worked because Johnny bites his lip and drops his hands.  
  
**hurt/comfort.**  
  
There’s only so many times a guy can hear the phrase ‘Parker luck’ before he loses it.  
  
Johnny sighs dramatically and tips his head upside down from the couch. His boyfriend is wailing over his textbooks or photos or Mysterio or something.

“Peter, you literally can’t be unlucky because you are banging someone who looks like me on a daily basis.”  
  
Peter webs his mouth shut. Jokes on him though— Johnny’s kind of into it.  
  
**fake dating.**  
  
“This seems unwise, John.”  
  
“Come on, Wyatt! You promised.”  
  
Wyatt is not even sure who the poor soul being plotted against is but this kind of stuff never works in the movies. Instead of saying this, he just goes red under the crowd’s chants for them to fulfill the sacred duties of showing up on the kiss cam. Wyatt thinks of Jen and he gently pecks his friend on the mouth. The baseball stadium goes wild.  
  
“Happy?” He mumbles under his breath.  
  
“Very.” Johnny smirks.  
  
When he turns back, Wyatt swears he sees the slight figure of a photographer in the press box cracking a camera between his hands. Huh— maybe that’s just his imagination.  
  
**soulmates.**  
  
“Lemme guess. In this timeline, I stick with the Future Foundation?” Peter grumbles, hanging off the roof.   
  
“Among other things,” This universe’s older, but still shiny, Johnny Storm says. He then grins and sticks his ring finger up like he is flipping Peter off. There’s a golden band on it.  
  
“Now, how cool are you with splitting me open with your alternative universe self?”  
  
Peter falls off the building. Miles and Gwen yelp.  
  
**family.**  
  
The snow storm is practically shaking the building, it is that intense. Peter wants to cry as he peels his wet, dripping suit off. His skin is red and raw underneath.  
  
Their apartment is quiet and dark as Peter tiptoes through, arms wrapped around himself and teeth chattering. He can’t see much in their room except for the white light reflected from the snow outside. Under what is probably a million thread count comforter, two blond heads nestle together. Johnny snores gently.  
  
Peter takes a quick picture on his phone because there is no way that his luck is going to let him keep something this perfect forever.  
  
He crawls underneath and buries his face in Johnny hair, sliding his arms around them both.  
  
Benji makes a muffled sound, the new movement waking him up, and pats his tiny little toddler hands on Peter’s cheeks. “Hi Daddy. Cold?”  
  
“Sure am, bud.” Peter kisses his kid’s fist and closes his eyes, feeling warm and utterly safe.  
  
**social media.**  
  
Spider-Man has a bad rep but Johnny Storm has 90 million Instagram followers.  
  
Peter fumes for hours in his room, obsessively watching looped footage of the newest superhero team that had the audacity to take over the old Avengers Tower.  
  
This video is of Johnny Storm— The Human Torch, oh _god_ — doing loop-de-loops over the Empire State Building. The douchebag posts videos of _himself_ doing lame fire tricks like he’s a celebrity while New York and the entire world thinks Spider-Man is a mass murderer. Anger clogs in his throat over the unfairness of it all.  
  
There’s a blue dot near Storm’s username and right on cue, the guy posted another picture. Peter knows it’s unhealthy to look which is why he immediately reloads the page.  
  
It was a picture, this time. Near the ocean— Johnny is at the beach, laughing with a hand in his messy blond hair and his smile wide. He is lean, whip thin, and skin a smooth olive brown. His trunks are slung low at his hips and he is fucking shirtless.  
  
Peter snaps his phone off quick and turns to stare at the ceiling. He is breathing hard.  
  
He will not jerk off to Johnny Storm.  
  
He will not jerk off to Johnny Storm.  
  
He utterly _refuses_ to jerk off to Johnny Storm.  
  
**free space.**  
  
Johnny has been in love with Peter Parker for a very long time.  
  
For a good portion of it, he kept it tucked between his ribs because Spider-Man was just a mask. Outside of good ol’ crime fighting, Johnny had to pinch himself and remember that he wasn’t part of Spider-Man’s life. Not really. Long nights working together, fixing Johnny’s car, dinners on rooftops, racing across the city— Spider-Man was his best friend and Johnny should be lucky he had just that.  
  
Then, Spider-Man had a face. A nice one, with sharp brown eyes and an angular face and wavy brown hair. Johnny still kept his mouth firmly shut— because Mary Jane Watson and Peter’s endless line of girlfriends (and always girls) were nice and pretty. By that point, Johnny had made amends with the fact that he will always be a little in love with Peter.  
  
Peter Parker now looks distractedly good in his suit, his face relaxed and grin wide. White flowers decorate the walls and the floors— it’s a small but beautiful wedding.  
  
Johnny is overwhelmed because there was a chance _he couldn’t have this_. Peter didn’t tell him his identity, someone else clicked with him better, Johnny stayed in the Negative Zone. He starts shaking a bit.  
  
Peter grabs his hands with a sudden urgency and squeezes. He breathes out a gentle, reverent, _“Johnny,”_ and Johnny feels lighter because after all of these years, Peter felt the same way.  
  
They kiss and it’s perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading. kudo/comments would be wonderful. please let me know about glaring grammar mistakes.


End file.
